FREE ESSAY ON FIVE PERSPECTIVES

FIVE PERSPECTIVES

FIVE PERSPECTIVES
00.00 Introduction
00.01 The purpose of this paper is to focus on history and culture. This is also the
required paper four for English composition 1301.
00.02 The thesis is this that this essay analyzes and interprets five essays on history
and culture in terms of understanding the meaning, evaluating the strategy and
appreciating the language as suggested by The Sundance Reader.
01.0 Point one
01.01 In the first essay by Matthew Arnold he writes about the two influences in our
world, which are "Hebraism and Hellenism". Hebraism is strictness of consciences and
Hellenism is spontaneity of consciences. In the second essay by Ruth Benedict she writes
about "The Pueblos of New Mexico", which are Indians. These Indians have a different
culture than the any other Indian tribe in North America. The Pueblos of New Mexico are
Apollonian and the other Indians are Dionysian. In the third essay by Joan Didion she
writes about "Pacific Distances". She uses Los Angeles, as an example of how our cities
have become so big that everything is the same. The constant rat race that people go
through in order to stay caught up and how sometimes this drives people over the edge. In
the fourth essay by N. Scott Momaday he writes "My Kiowa Grandmother". In the essay he
goes on to discusses her heritage as a Kiowa Indian in memory of her. In the fifth essay
by Ishmael Reed he writes about "The multicultural Society". Which explains how America
has several different cultures. Meaning that the countries surrounding it influence
America. Such as Mexico, Africa and China. The different types of art also influence
other cultures here in America. 
02.0 Point two
02.01 In the first essay by Arnold, the strategy used by the author is of meaning.
Matthew uses the terms of Hebraism and Hellenism to manipulate a clear picture of the
terms; which he states are commonly misunderstood. The second essay, by Ruth Benedict
speaks of cultural significance. How the pueblos culture is distinct to them. She paints
a very distinctive image of the society and rituals of the pueblos in the minds of the
reader. In the third essay, "Pacific Distances", the author uses a descriptive prose to
illustrate her point. Which is the big city (Los Angeles) is so big that it is hard to
escape from the confines of it. Everywhere you look it is the same there is no
uniqueness. Her story of the woman who was driven to insanity and took her life and tried
to take the life of her daughter; reflects the authors strategy in rounding up her essay
on the effects of the big city life. "My Kiowa Grandmother" is an illustration of the
authors grandmother and her tribes traditions. Here the author tells a story and relates
past experiences making them culturally significant. The final perspective "America: The
Multicultural Society" the author talks about how different areas of the U.S. and world
are influenced culturally. The strategy used in this essay is occurrence. They speak of
the instance in Texas with the signs being in Spanish and English. Also, the author talks
of how classical music and painting was influenced by different cultures. The way the
author talks about these different instances helps illustrate their theme.
03.0 POINT THREE
03.01 The third goal is tellingly appreciating the language. In "Hebraism and Hellenism"
the language is hard to follow it requires a more in depth look than the other stories. I
regard this passage as my favorite, because of the language being more complex. Arnold
Matthew's tale "The Pueblos of New Mexico" uses a clean and clear language to speak about
the cultural significance of the Pueblos people in relation to other surrounding cultures
of the time. "Pacific Distances" seems vague in language to me. I can catch the theme but
don't quite catch a clear representation of how the article in the paper fits together as
a whole. "My Kiowa Grandmother" uses plain language to describe the Kiowa culture in
relation to the persons Grandmother. The language here is easily understood to the
reader. The fifth essay, "America: The Multicultural Society" uses plain language to
portray the authors message of how cultural diffusion has leaked into all parts of
American and worldly fashions.
04.0 SUMMARY/CONCLUSION
04.01 Above is an analysis and interpretation of five essays dealing with history and
culture based on meaning, strategy, and language appreciation.
04.02 These essays provide rich evidence that, as the Hellenes proposed, "The unexamined
life is not worth living."